Main content
SAT (Fall 2023)
Course: SAT (Fall 2023) > Unit 11
Lesson 3: Writing: Grammar- Writing: Setting Up Ideas — Video Lesson
- Setting up ideas | Quick guide
- Writing: Strong Support — Video lesson
- Strong support | Quick guide
- Writing: Relevant Information — Video lesson
- Relevant information | Quick guide
- Writing: Sequencing sentences — Video lesson
- Sequencing sentences | Quick guide
- Writing: Transition Words — Video lesson
- Transition words and phrases | Quick guide
- Writing: Transition Sentences — Video Lesson
- Transition sentences | Quick guide
- Writing: Introductions — Video lesson
- Writing: Conclusions — Video lesson
- Introductions and conclusions | Quick guide
- Writing: Interpreting Graphs and Data — Video lesson
- Interpreting graphs and data | Quick guide
- Writing: Precision — Video Lesson
- Precise word choice | Quick guide
- Writing: Concision — Video lesson
- Concision | Quick guide
- Writing: Formal and Informal Language — Video Lesson
- Writing: Formal vs. casual language — Example
- Formal vs. casual language | Quick guide
- Writing: Syntax — Example
- Writing: Sentence Fragments — Video Lesson
- Writing: Sentence Boundaries — Example 1
- Writing: Sentence boundaries — Example 2
- Sentence fragments | Quick guide
- Writing: Subordination and coordination — Example
- Writing: Combining Sentences — Video Lesson
- Linking clauses | Quick guide
- Writing: Parallel Structure — Video lesson
- Writing: Parallel structure — Example
- Parallel structure | Quick guide
- Writing: Modifier Placement — Video Lesson
- Writing: Modifier placement — Example
- Modifier placement | Quick guide
- Writing: Verb Tense and Mood — Video Lesson
- Writing: Shift in verb tense and mood — Example
- Verb tense and mood | Quick guide
- Writing: Pronoun Clarity — Video Lesson
- Writing: Pronoun clarity — Example
- Pronoun clarity | Quick guide
- Writing: Pronoun Agreement — Video Lesson
- Writing: Pronoun-antecedent agreement — Example
- Pronoun-antecedent agreement | Quick guide
- Writing: Possessive determiners — Example 1
- Writing: Possessive determiners — Example 2
- Writing: It’s/Its Confusion — Video Lesson
- Confusion with "its" and "their" | Quick guide
- Writing: Subject-Verb Agreement — Video Lesson
- Writing: Subject-verb agreement — Example
- Subject-verb agreement | Quick guide
- Writing: Noun Agreement — Video Lesson
- Writing: Noun agreement — Basic example
- Noun agreement | Quick guide
- Writing: Frequently Confused Words — Video Lesson
- Writing: Frequently confused words — Example
- Frequently confused words | Quick guide
- Writing: Conventional Expressions — Video Lesson
- Writing: Conventional expression — Example
- Conventional expressions | Quick guide
- Writing: Logical Comparison — Video Lesson
- Writing: Logical comparison — Example
- Logical comparison | Quick guide
- Writing: End-of-sentence punctuation — Example 1
- Writing: End-of-sentence punctuation — Example 2
- Writing: Commas — Video Lesson
- Commas | Quick guide
- Writing: Semicolons — Video Lesson
- Semicolons | Quick guide
- Writing: Colons — Video lesson
- Colons | Quick guide
- Writing: Possessive Pronouns — Example
- Writing: Possessive Nouns — Video Lesson
- Making nouns possessive | Quick guide
- Writing: Items in a series — Example
- Writing: Punctuating Lists — Video Lesson
- Lists and punctuation | Quick guide
- Writing: Nonrestrictive and parenthetical elements — Example
- Writing: Nonessential Elements — Video Lesson
- Nonessential elements | Quick guide
© 2023 Khan AcademyTerms of usePrivacy PolicyCookie Notice
Writing: Parallel structure — Example
Watch Sal work through a harder parallel structure question from the SAT Writing and Language Test.
Want to join the conversation?
What is the difference between parallel structure and items in a series?(4 votes)
Items in a series often exhibit parallel structure, but parallel structure is not limited to items in series and items in series don't have to be parallel, although they usually are in the SAT Writing section. An example of parallel structure would be in the following sentences:
Usnavi liked cake. Avaneesh liked okra. Ionut liked pencils.
The structure in this case is the subject, followed by "liked", and then followed by the item. In these sentences it's used to imply that Ionut likes to eat pencils, just because the structure was similar and the other two sentences were talking about liking food items. As you can see, the parallelism can also be used with sentences, and isn't limited to items in a list.
Items in a series are just items in a list, separated by commas:
I like to go skiing, hiking, and to the bathroom.
Note how weird that list sounded because it wasn't parallel, and the last item was a full prepositional phrase as opposed to the one-word answers. This is why writers opt to use parallelism heavily-- it ties sentences and paragraphs together.
Hope this helps!(4 votes)
- I got a question like this in one of the practice tests: That day, Martha decided to eat pasta, to watch TV, and go to sleep. Why is it not to go to sleep?(3 votes)
- remove the go before "to sleep"
That day, Martha decided to eat pasta, to watch TV, and to sleep.(4 votes)
At1:46I don't understand why have released is used instead of released.(2 votes)
At1:46Sal uses have released instead of released because the repetition of the word have is an important literary device in the sentence.(2 votes)
Would it be possible to use "be" (NO CHANGE) if she was in the process of releasing her first album?(2 votes)- Yes but, as she obvioulsy isn't, it wont work in this sentence. But yes, if she was, it would work.(1 vote)
- How can I attend Google classroom for SAT?(1 vote)
- what would be an example of parallelism?(1 vote)
So if we're writing a sentence and a word breaks the flow of the sentence, it needs to be changed?(0 votes)- What if there’s more than one word in each clause or section?(0 votes)
if the sentence had been underlined from have written I guess, then you would have to select: be writing,be signing and be releasing because it said ''if you want to follow TS'',it means that the writer is going to do that in future (if he decides to) and hence the answer.(0 votes)
But generally, at least one verb form is given so you know what the test wants you to consider as the verb form. They don't usually tend to give you a sentences with all of its verb forms missing. But considering what you said, don't forget that the sentence has "you would need" already, so "be writing" is probably grammatically correct, but "have written" sounds better with context.(0 votes)
1:46
Video transcript
- [Instructor] If you want
to follow the footsteps of Taylor Swift, you would need to have written your
first novel by age 11, have signed an artist development deal with a record company by age 14, and be releasing your
first album by age 16. So this clause here, even
before we think about the, or the sentence here even before
we think about the grammar, it puts a bit of undue
pressure on you if you want to be like Taylor Swift. She's bit of an overachiever, but anyway, let's focus
on the grammar here. So if you want to follow the
footsteps of Taylor Swift, you would need to, and
then they list three things that you would need to do. You would need to have written
your first novel by age 11, have signed an artist development deal with a record company by age 14, and be releasing your
first album by age 16. So, when you read that,
have you noticed anything? Well, each of these clauses have written starts with
a certain form of verb, have written, and in a way
you could say a verb clause, but have written, then
you have have signed, which feels parallel to have written. It feels like the same form, but then you say and be releasing. Be releasing is a different form than have written or have signed. So this is, this last clause's breaking the parallel structure here,
so I definitely don't want. I definitely want no change. If I wanted to be parallel, I would say and have, and have released, and, let me write that down even before I look at the choices, have, let me write over here, and have released, because it was and have released your
first album by age 16, you have have written, have
signed, and have released. That would be parallel. So I would knock those out, so let's see if any of
these choices have that. Be signing, no, I don't wanna all of a sudden make
this parallel to this, and then it's breaks with have written, so I wanna rule that out. Have signed an artist development deal with a record company by age 14, and have released your
first album by age 16. Yup, this is now it's all, we
have nice parallel structure. The same we have have released, we have have signed, and have written. Be signing an artist development deal, well, be signing, once again, this would break the parallel
structure with have written, so we wanna rule that one out as well. So feeling really good about this choice.